Opening means for regular cartons



April 17, 1951 R. M. DUNNING OPENING MEANS FOR REGULAR CARTONS FiledAug. 21, 1947 Patented Apr. 17; 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Robert'M. :Dunn'ing, 'St. Paul, Minn., ass'ignor to Waldorf Paper ProductsCompany, St. Paul, "Minn a corporation of'Minnesota Applioati'onAugust21, 1947, Serial No. 769,798

8'Claims; .1 Y

My invention relates to an improvement in opening means for regularcartons wherein it is desired to provide .an easy operable means ofopening .a cartonto dispense the contents thereof;

It is an objectof the present-invention to provide a corner of thecarton with a flap which may be quickly and easily opened to. permit thecontents of the package to be poured from this corner. Thus the cornerof the carton iorms a pouring spout through which the packagecontentsmay bepoured.

A feature of the present inventionlies in the provision of a tab ofgenerally triangularshape having a projecting portion extending beyondthe fold line connecting the triangular tab to the remainder of. thecarton. By pressing on the projecting portion; the triangular tab may behinged about its .line of fold to produce a triangular opening at onecorner of the package.

A. feature of the present invention lies in the provision of an openingtab which extends .on both sides of aligned lines of. foldconnecting thetab to the remainder of the carton. Thus by depressing one portion ofthe tab into the carton the opposite end of the tab may be raised topermit pouring from the package.

An added :feature of the present invention lies in the provision of atab extending on both sides of a fold line connecting the tab to thecarton and in producing this tab in a plurality of laminations of carbonstock. Thus the tab when formed is of several thicknesses of cartonstock,

adding materially to the strength of .the tab and reinforcing the'bodythereof.

An added feature of the present invention lies in the. provision of atab which is defined on one end by a pair of diverging weakened lines ofseparation along which the tab may be separated from theremainder of thecarton. .The other-end of the tab isformed of a plurality of thicknessesof carton stock, the layers ofstockbeingof different size so that thistab end is not defined. along a out line extending entirelythrough the,

carton. This end of the tab is of stepped forma tion about its peripheryand is accommodated in a carton wall of similarly stepped formation toprovide adequate closure when the flap is closed.

An added feature of'the present .inven'tionlies in the fact that mycarton closure can be formed in a carton of the. common sealed end type.By producing proper cut lines, 'fold lines, and vperforated lines in thecarton stock my closure may be produced without adding any carton stock.

These and other objects. and novel features 2 of my invention wiillbemore clearly and Ifully set. forth in the following specification andclaims.

In the drawingsf orming a part of my specification:

.Figure .1 is a perspective view of my carton in. closed form.

Figure 2 is an enlarged view showing'aportion of the top of the cartonand showing the closure in partially openedposition.

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic view of the major portion of the blank fromwhich the carton is formed.

Figure 4 is a sectional view through a corner of the carton and theclosure therefor.

The carton .A maybe of any usual type or description having four wallshingedly connected together along, lines of fold and connected intubularrelation. A-carton of theusualglued end type is illustrated inFigure 3, the lower edge of the blank being omitted if conventionalfolding .fiaps are used at this end. The carton A .asillustratedincludes wall panels 10, I I, I 2 and i3 ,foldably connectedtogether along parallel fold lines l4, l5, and IS. The glue .fiap I1 ishingedy connected to oneend panel of the series. such-as thepanel l 3 bya foldline l9.

The panels 10,, ll, l2 and I3 are connected along a-oommon line of fold2D to the various top closure .fla-ps. A closure flap 2| is hingedlyconnected to the panel 10; A closure flap 22 is hingedly connected tothe flap H. A closure flap 2.3 is hingedly connected-to the flap l2while a flap 24 is hingedly connectedto the panel 13.

.As the flaps v2! :and 23 are usually folded into coplanar relationshipinwardly of the flaps .24 and :25, these .fiaps will first be described.The flap 2| .is a conventional type of flap which when folded inwardly,will extend toward the center of the carton and underlie theflaps 22 and24. The i-fiap 23 comprises a triangular area 25, 'an integralflapportion 26, and a remainin fiap portion 2-1. The generally triangulararea 25 is bounded on oneside by the out line 29 separating thelfiaps'22and 23. Along a second edge the triangular area 25 is bounded by aperforated line L30 which extendsalong the foldline .20. The third.-side of the triangular area .is bounded by the out line 3| and thealigned cut :score line or perforated line 32 sufficiently along theline 30 so that the flap will split or tear along this line when theclosure is first opened.

The flap portion 26 is generally'rectangular in area .and'includes a outline 33 alongone edge.

The r flap 23 is weakened a out line 34 along a second edge, and a cutscore or perforated line 35 along a third edge. The fourth edge of thegenerally rectangular tab portion 26 is integral with the triangulararea 25. Thus the tab portions 25 and 26 form in effect an arrowheadshaped member which outlines the tab or openable part of the closure.

The area 21 of the flap 23 is bounded by the cut score or perforatedline 35, an extension of the cut line 34, the out line 33 between theflaps 23 and 25, the fold line 20, and the cut score or perforated line32. It will be noted that the marginal edge of the flap portion 26 isprinted or coated as indicated by the shade lines 31 so that theadhesive adhering the various flaps together will not adhere along theselines. As a result the various layers forming the tab will adheretogether, Y

but the plies will remain unattached along the rabbeted edge of the tab.

The flap 22 is provided with a tab portion therein which is similar inshape to the tab portions 25 and 26 of the flap 23. The flap 39 in theflap 22 includes a triangular area 40 and an integral rectangular area4|. The triangular area 43 is bounded on one edge by the out line 23 andon a second edge by a perforated line 42 along the fold line 20. Thethird edge of the triangular area is partially bounded by a pair ofaligned cut lines 43 and 44. These cut lines 43 and 44 may if desiredcomprise perforated lines, cut score lines, or even fold lines, but itis preferable that the tab separate from the remainder of the flap 22 ifthe tab is opened into the position shown in Figure 2 so that the hingemay be formed in a single thickness of carton stock.

The rectangular area 4| of the tab 39 is defined along three edges by aU-shaped out line 45 which terminates in alignment with the cut lines 43and 44. The rectangular area 4! is printed or coated marginally asindicated at 43 so that the adhesive between flaps 22 and 24 will notadhere the marginal edges of the rectangular area M to the flap 24. Thusan arrowhead shaped tab 39 is formed in the flap 22 which is similar inshape to the tab'in the flap 23 except that the rectangu lar areas areof different size. s

The flap 24 is provided with a tab 41 which is a so in the general shapeof an arrowhead and which is designed to overlie the tabs previouslydescribed when the carton is closed. The tab 41 includes a generallytriangular area 49 and a generally rectangular area 50 integrallyconnected together. The triangular area 49 is defined along one edge bythe out line 36 and along a second edge by the free edge of the flap 24.The third'side of the triangular area is partial y defined by a pair ofaligned fold lines 52 and 53. The rectangular area 50 is defined by aU-shaped out line 54 which terminates at its open end in alignment withthe fold lines 52 and 53.

In the folding of the carton the flap 23 is folded into coplanar reationwith the flap 2!. The flap 22 is folded to overlie the flap 23 and thefiap 24 is folded to overlie the flap 22. It will be noted that thetriangular areas of the three flaps are of substantially equal size andthe fold lines 52 and 53 overlie the cut lines or fold lines of thetriangular areas beneath. It should also be noted that the flap 4'! isprovided with a rectangular projecting tab portion of relatively smallarea; the flap 39 has a rectangular area of somewhat larger dimension,and the rectangular area 26 of the flap 23 has still larger dimensions.As"

rabbeted edge is provided about these tabs. The adhesive securing theflap 22 to the flap 23 and securing the flap 24 to the flap 22 does notconnect the layers together along this rabbeted edge, thereby permittingthe rectangular areas of the tab to be forced down into the interior ofthe carton. By forming the lowermost tab larger than the tabs above alsopermits certain irregularities in folding and does not require that thevarious layers be in perfect regular form in order to operate.

In opening the carton, the carton is torn or out along the perforatedlines 30 and 42 to separate the triangular areas of the tabs from theadjacent side walls of the carton. The tab may then be opened bypressing upon the rectangular 1 area so of the uppermost tab 47, thisaction causin the tab to hinge along the fold lines 52 and 53 asillustrated in Figure 2 of the drawings. As the tabs swing into openposition, it is desirable that the tabs forming the lowermost two layerstear along the lines of fold so as to simplify the folding of the taband allow the tab to be folded in either direction with a minimum ofease.

In accordance with the patent statutes, I have described the principlesof construction and opertion forming a part of said closure, two sidesof said triangular tab portion being defined by adjacent sides of saidtop closure, the third side of said triangular portion being partiallydefined by a pair of spaced aligned fold lines, and a tab portion onsaid triangular tab portion extending on the opposite side of said foldlines from said triangular tab portion and connecting the spaced ends ofsaid aligned fold lines, said last named tab portion being foldable toone side the plane of said closure when the triangular portion folds tothe other side of the plane of said closure.

-2. An opening means for a carton having side walls connected in tubularrelation and a top closure comprising a series of laminations, saidopening means including a triangular tab por-', tion forming a part ofsaid closure, two sides of said triangular tab portion being defined byadj acent sides of said top closure, the third side of said triangularportion being partially defined by a pair of spaced aligned fold lines,and a tab. portionon said triangular tab portions extending on theopposite side of said fold lines from said triangular tab portion andconnecting the spaced ends of said aligned fold lines, said last namedtab portion being foldable to one side of the plane of said closure whenthe triangular portion folds to the other side of the plane of saidclosure, the two sides of said triangular closure. portion being definedby the adjacent edges of said closure being connected to the adjacentWall's" ofthe carton along weakened lines of separation.

3. An opening means for a carton having side walls connected in tubularrelation and a top'. closure comprising a series of laminations, saidopenings means including a triangular tab por tion forming a part ofsaid closure, two sides" of said triangular tab portion being'defiriedby adjacent sides of said top closure, the third side of said triangularportion being partially defined by a pair of spaced aligned fold lines,and a tab portion on said triangular tab portion extending on theopposite side of said fold lines from said triangular tab portion andconnecting the spaced ends of said aligned fold lines, said last namedtab portion being foldable to one side of the plane of said closure whenthe triangular portion folds to the other side of the plane of saidclosure, said last named tab portion being formed with a steppedmarginal edge.

4. An opening means for a carton having side walls connected in tubularrelation and a top closure comprising a series of laminations, saidopening means including a triangular tab portion forming a part of saidclosure, two sides of said triangular tab portion being defined byadjacent sides of said top closure, the third side of said triangularportion being partially defined by a pair of spaced aligned fold lines,and a tab portion on said triangular tab portion extending on theopposite side of said fold lines from said triangular tab portion andconnecting the spaced ends of said aligned fold lines, said last namedtab portions being foldable to one side of the plane of said closurewhen the triangular portion folds to the upper side of the plane ofclosure, said tab being formed of a plurality of thicknesses of cartonstock.

5. An opening means for a carton having rectangularly arrange-d sidewalls and closure flaps thereon folded into superimposed relation, 7

the opening means comprising a tab formed in said closure, said tabincluding a triangular portion being defined by two adjacent edges ofthe closure and a diagonal line connecting said adjacent edges, said tabalso including an operating portion projecting beyond said diagonal lineand being defined by a out line of generally U-shape terminating at thediagonal, and aligned fold lines between the ends of said U-shaped outline and adjacent edges.

6. An opening mean for a carton having rectangularly arranged side wallsand closure flaps thereon folded into superimposed relation, the openingmeans comprising a tab formed in said closure, said tab including atriangular portion being defined by two adjacent edges of the closureand a diagonal line connecting said adja- 50 Number cent edges, said tabalso including an operating portion projecting beyond said diagonallineand being defined by a out line of generally U-shape terminating atthe diagonal, and fold lines on said diagonal line between the ends ofsaid 55 2217142 U-shaped out line and said adjacent edges, said tabbeing formed in a plurality of said closing flaps, thus being formed ofa plurality of layers.

'7. An opening means for a carton having rectangularly arranged sidewalls and closure flaps thereon folded into superimposed relation, theopening means comprising a tab formed in said closure, said tabincluding a triangular portion being defined by two adjacent edges ofthe closure and a diagonal line connecting said adjacent edges, said tabalso including an operating portion projecting beyond said diagonal lineand being defined by a out line of generally U-shape terminating at thediagonal, and fold lines on said diagonal line between the ends of saidU- shaped out line and said adjacent edges, said tab being formed in aplurality of said closing flaps, thus being formed of a plurality oflayers, the U-shaped cut lines of each layer defining a larger area thanthe U-shaped out line of the next layer thereabove.

8. An opening means for a carton having rectangularly arranged sideWalls and closure flaps thereon folded into superimposed relation, theopening means comprising a tab formed in said closure, said tabincluding a triangular portion being defined by two adjacent edges ofthe closure and a diagonal line connecting said adjacent edges, said tabalso including an operating portion projecting beyond said diagonal lineand being defined by a out line of generally U-shape terminating at thediagonal, and fold lines on said diagonal line between the ends of saidU- shaped out line and said adjacent edges, said tab being formed in aplurality of said closing flaps, thus being formed of a plurality oflayers, the U-shaped out line defining the lowermost layer defining alarger area than the U-shaped out line of the tab thereover, and inkrepelling means on the marginal edge of the lowermost layer adjacentsaid U-shaped out line.

ROBERT M. DUNNING.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date 1,040,651 Double Oct. 8, 1912 1,448,894Winship Mar. 20, 1923 1,606,439 Metzger Nov. 9, 1926 1,793,073 Field eta1 Feb. 17, 1931 Stedman Oct. 8, 1940

